Reviews tagging 'Blood'

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

88 reviews

nagoatsis's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Sexism, Violence, War, Blood, Rape, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Slavery, Genocide, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Infidelity and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent

rhosynmd's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Wow. Just wow. This book is incredible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide

Minor: Confinement and Pregnancy

readerette's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Reading through the experiences of so many women and goddesses attached to the Trojan War was a fascinating journey. I learned a lot about the details of the battles and the characters. 

Reminiscent of Madeline Miller, but a different emotional tenor because Miller's stories hone in more on specific characters, in my experience. The many voices on both sides lend this book a sense of telling the unbiased, unvarnished truth of the war. A heavy topic, and dark themes reign, but most things of a graphic nature are only mentioned, rarely laid out in great detail.

Calliope felt like a strange inclusion since she wasn't directly affected by or involved in the war like everyone else in the book. Penelope's letters were distracting in my opinion, as often they took a meandering approach more like a train of thought than a letter.

I still enjoyed reading very much!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Grief, Slavery, Infidelity, and War

Minor: Violence, Blood, Rape, and Vomit

cglharmony's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Child death, Death, War, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Confinement, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Slavery, Rape, Murder, Blood, and Animal death

Minor: Vomit and Miscarriage

eni_iilorak's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Confinement, War, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Trafficking, Slavery, Rape, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Animal death, Pregnancy, Incest, and Torture

Minor: Ableism, Alcohol, and Torture

cerilouisereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and War

rebeccajost's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Infidelity, Grief, Genocide, Death of parent, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, War, Sexism, Slavery, Physical abuse, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, and Sexual assault

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow, this was an amazing book! I found myself getting emotional during the closing chapter. I wouldn't say the audio added or detracted from the experience (and I'm really impressed that the author did such a great job with it), although I do think it would be harder to listen to this one without some knowledge of Greek legends and myths. It really helped me to have familiarity with all the names that were being thrown at me since I couldn't see them written down or page back to review. The amount of research that went into this book is truly mind-boggling and I'm in awe of how much information Haynes was able to condense into this narrative.

Having looked at some other reviews, I understand why readers would want more depth and time spent with each character. Maybe I was unbothered due to my familiarity with the source material; Haynes was giving us a lot more information about these women than Homer ever did! I also loved the humor that was sprinkled into all the darkness and bloodshed, particularly Penelope and Calliope's chapters (it must be so irritating to have men begging you to inspire them all of the time). So much love for this feminist take on the Trojan War and for my beloved, exasperated Calliope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Child death

Moderate: Rape and Slavery

Minor: Blood

heather_freshparchment's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, Murder, Grief, Violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, War, and Vomit

elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, War, and Slavery